Burgos: Woods must be open to win trust back

This past week, Tiger Woods announced his return to golf. He intends to compete at the… This past week, Tiger Woods announced his return to golf. He intends to compete at the Masters beginning April 8 after a four-and-a-half month layoff spent away from the public’s view in the wake of an unearthed sex scandal that captivated the world.

Since his re-emergence from seclusion, Woods and his handlers have been — cautiously, to say the least — allowing media availability. He gave his first public statements to a select few media members in an anonymous hotel ballroom. Questions were not permitted.

Last Sunday, Woods granted two additional interviews, one to ESPN and the other to the Golf Channel, and each session was limited to five minutes. There were no restrictions on the types of questions that could be asked, but Woods gave no comment to several inquiries, not notably questions pertaining to the night that spurred the current Woods saga.

In November, Woods crashed his car into a fire hydrant in the middle of the night and was taken to the hospital.

In his two recent interviews, Woods seemed contrite. He was solemn and appeared genuine. But the sheer nature of such interviews belies those points. If Woods truly wants to rehabilitate his image, he must wave all restrictions and answer all the tough questions.

Woods said he wants to change. He said he got away from his core values and lived an entitled and reckless life. From the time he won his first green jacket at Augusta in 1997, Woods, by some accounts the most recognizable and famous athlete in the world, has portrayed a highly controlled and calculated image that concealed his true personality. Image maintenance is what got him in this pickle. So why does he think it will get him out of it?

If it were up to Woods, he would win back the adoration of fans and corporate endorsements on the golf course. He would win the Masters in a few weeks and all would be forgotten. But that won’t be enough — although, if he does win, think of the hoopla that will surround him. He’d be a media darling for overcoming such adversity, right?

But no, to have any chance at fully winning back the respect he lost through various extra-marital affairs, Woods must now betray all the things that got him to that point in the first place — the insane image control, the hidden personality and the “no comment”-type answers that shut people out.

I have a rough time arguing that any individual is “obligated” to divulge to the world the details of his personal life. But in the case of a figure as public and world famous as Woods, who wields social influence in the same manner in which he wields a 7-iron, it is now necessary. He has to answer every question he is asked. He must be honest and truthful.

Referring to the details of the ambiguous police report drafted the evening of the accident will not suffice. Woods was ultimately charged with careless driving and nothing else.

More importantly, Woods needs to get into specifics about how his life took such an ugly and adulterous turn. What factors contributed to his disloyalty to his wife, with so many women, over such a long period of time? Was it the passing of his father, Earl Woods, who he considered his closest friend and confidant? Was it pure celebrity? Was it the constant image manufacturing implemented by sponsors?

Chances are Woods doesn’t have all the answers. Perhaps he is as flummoxed as we all are. But he can still provide insights. He doesn’t have to spill every bean, but he does have to try and rationalize the recent events in his life to the public — that is, if he wants to win back their trust.

Because that’s what this is really about: winning back the trust of millions around the globe. If Woods doesn’t care — though he said he does in his ESPN interview — then it doesn’t matter. He can keep things private, and we will never know.

But until the blanket of restrictions and stipulations are lifted, Woods will not have satisfied the general public or the media in regard to the events in his life over the past four months. And he will never be regarded in the same light again.